Matthew Federman and Stephen Scaia have been hired to draft a reboot of Zorro, Deadline reports. This version is said to be based on the Isabel Allende novel that, released in 2005, served as a mock biography. Allende describes her take on her official site as follows:

A swashbuckling adventure story, "Zorro" reveals the history behind the legendary masked man.

Born in Southern California in the late eighteenth century, Diego de la Vega is a child of two worlds. His father is an aristocratic Spanish military man turned landowner, his mother a Shoshone warrior. From his father, Diego receives lessons in the art of fencing and in cattle branding; from his maternal grandmother, White Owl, he learns the ways of her tribe. As a child he also witnesses the brutal injustices dealt Native Americans by European settlers and begins to feel the inner conflict of his dual heritage.

At the age of sixteen, Diego is sent to Barcelona to be educated. Spain is chafing under the corruption of Napoleonic rule, and Diego, following the example of his celebrated fencing master, joins La Justicia, a secret underground resistance movement devoted to helping the powerless and the poor. With this tumultuous period as a backdrop, Diego falls in love, saves the persecuted, and confronts a great rival who emerges from the world of privilege. After many adventures—duels at dawn, fierce battles with pirates at sea, and daring rescues—Diego de la Vega, a.k.a. Zorro, returns to America to reclaim the hacienda where he was raised and to seek justice for all who cannot fight for it themselves.

Federman and Scaia are best known for television series like "Human Target," "Jericho" and "Warehouse 13." Though Zorro will be released through Sony Pictures, it isn't planned to have any connection to the previous modern film versions, The Mask of Zorro and The Legend of Zorro.

I'm really excited for this! I've been a fan of the character for a long time and Isabelle Allende's book is awesome. I wasn't a fan of the Antonio Banderas movies but I loved the old Disney series that used to air at night on Disney Channel.

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Y'know I was just thinking a few days ago that at this point I don't see how they could do a sequel with Bandaras (Legend of Zorro blew anyway) and that a simple solution would be to a prequel with a younger version of Hopkins Zorro in his prime.

I'd like to see the new movie take a route like that instead of becoming an entirely new continuity.

I'm pretty sure the Antonio Banderas incarnation by Amblin/Sonny has long ago run it's course.

The character especially the classic Diego De La Vega version is due for a full blown origin reboot. Since the latest incarnation and it's sequel only really focused on Diego De La Vega's(Anthony Hopkins) denouement.
And instead focused on the rise of Alejandro Murrieta(Antonio Banderas) as Zorro.

The as-yet filmed Isabelle AllendeZorro Novel expanded greatly on the never told Diego De La Vega origin. Kind of a year-one retelling of how Diego becomes Zorro, including elements like his mother - half Native American, how she met his father a Spanish Captain "defending" the Missions from her tribe, and how he (Diego) is torn between being equal parts of two worlds "old" and "new", "civilized"(meant to be ironic) and "untamed". His grand-mother (White-Owl) who sets him on a vision quest where he encounters his Spirit Guide, a small black Fox from who he takes his name, cunning and courage.

His training in Spain under the mysterious knights of the Justicia who give him a moral compass and a code of honor, and how to fight with The True Destreza ( look it up). To how he first met and named his horse Tornado and discovered the secret underground lair etc.. All of this is rife for being used in a movie. And most of it has never been explored in any of the films.

And today they announced they are doing just that!

I was a bit weary when they announced they were doing Zorro Beyond, or Generation Z The Movie whatever they were going to call it. Although I have to admit I was curious how they would pull it off.
This is a much better idea though.

And although the novel dragged in places, it's got more than enough great elements to make a good movie.

I wasn't a fan of the Antonio Banderas movies but I loved the old Disney series that used to air at night on Disney Channel.

I liked them enough, especially the first one as an ending to the De La Vega character saga it was great, I thought it did right by the character. And it did a good job of setting up and launching the new franchise with great potential for sequels, and legacy characters to follow.

The second one just really fell apart. It had some great scenes and action, loved the horse on the train, and the dual bladed battle, but the "separation" plot and that kid really killed it.

...a simple solution would be to a prequel with a younger version of Hopkins Zorro in his prime.

I'd like to see the new movie take a route like that instead of becoming an entirely new continuity.

Well the Hopkins character version of De La Vega was a pretty faithful extension of the established "continuity" and what appears in the Allende Novel. So if you want to imagine The Mask of Zorro as a continuation of the "new" continuity, I doubt there will be much conflict.

My only hope is that they do cast the new young De La Vega with a Latino/Hispanic actor this time.
While I loved Hopkins as the seasoned De LA Vega, if they are really following the novel then this time there is no excuse not to.

In the over 90 years of this franchises existence, they have yet to cast a Latino actor as the classic De La Vega Zorro in a major film. Which is a pretty shameful record.

And while Guy Williams' real name was Armand Catalano, the name Catalano suggesting his anncesters were indeed from the region of Catalunya Spain. He was still Italian.
And Antonio Banderas who was great, obviously did not play Diego.

The closest we got was Christian Meyer in that Telenovela (which I confess I loved for it's own crazy reasons) but maybe the less said about it the better.

An in-scale perspective of who the star and focus of the Zorro Telenovela was...
Zorro La Rosa

Mask of Zorro (1998) was a terrific piece of popcorn entertainment and, IMO, the best Zorro movie/story ever told. But Legend of Zorro (2007) was horrifically awful and was like when Campbell followed up Casino Royale with Green Lantern.

So, with two films Spielberg, Amblin, Sony, Campbell et al effectively brought Zorro back better than ever and then killed it. So, I'm fine with a reboot as it will be nearly 15 years since the last Zorro origin movie (with a different Zorro no less) and can work with the right casting and style.

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I am a huge fan of the Mask of Zorro, I love the story they tell in it, great story telling in my opinion. I am torn about this news. I would love a new Zorro movie, however I wish they did a third where Antonio officially passed the torch to his son.

I am a huge fan of the Mask of Zorro, I love the story they tell in it, great story telling in my opinion. I am torn about this news. I would love a new Zorro movie, however I wish they did a third where Antonio officially passed the torch to his son.

Same here. I really enjoyed Mask of Zorro. However, I would like to forget that Legend of Zorro ever existed.

I was simply discussing how I would have LIKED a film that told the origins of "Masks" Diego before this news broke.

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvelrobbins

A shame there couldn't be a prequel to Mask of Zorro showing how Diego becomes Zorro.

Since Mask of Zorro Diego was a pretty faithful extension of the already established Zorro canon, and doesn't really contradict any "continuity" established in the Allende Novel. The origins of Mask of Zorro Diego is pretty much what you're going to get anyway, since they are in effect the same character. Even though they are calling it a reboot.

So if you still want to imagine this new movie's "continuity" as a prequel to The Mask of Zorro, I doubt there will be much conflict.